


Like Real People Do

by pepperminttea3



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Crossover, Developing Relationship, F/M, Pre-Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Pre-Relationship, Sci-Ops Era (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-07-12 14:26:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7109035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pepperminttea3/pseuds/pepperminttea3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the best weapons engineer at S.H.I.E.L.D., Fitz is invited to a Stark Industries party for the scientific community. After fretting for weeks over the +1 on the invitation, he asks the only person he can think of to accompany him—the one who’s been beside him the whole damn time. </p><p>Takes place between Iron Man 2 and Avengers. Slightly AU cameo appearance by Bobbi Morse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Dr. Leopold Fitz, +1_

The invitation had been sitting on his desk for weeks.

At first he had honestly believed it was a joke, a prank set up by some of his colleagues. But then he overheard a few people discussing it in the canteen. A big gala to celebrate the launch of the latest Stark Industries division, and top scientists from all over the globe were being invited.

Once Fitz realized the event was, in fact, real, he moved on to thinking there had been some kind of mistake. Who was he, a Level 4 engineer working in S.H.I.E.L.D. Sci Ops, to be included among the world’s most prevalent scientific minds? It made him laugh just to think about it.

“Please, of course you’d be invited!” Simmons said matter-of-factly when he expressed his doubt. “It’s no secret that your work has been brilliant recently, they were bound to take notice.” 

He’d asked one of his superior officers if this was even allowed. Wasn’t it some sort of conflict of interest? But the officer had brushed it off.

“Stark is a consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D. There will be other agents there. Don’t read too much into it. Just go, have a good time. I’ll bet the food will be incredible.” 

Simmons had asked him nearly every day whether or not he was planning on attending.

“It’s such a wonderful opportunity!” she’d chirp whenever he replied that he wasn’t sure.

“I’m not planning on leaving S.H.I.E.L.D., Simmons. I’m perfectly happy where I am.”

“Of course, but think of everyone who will be there. Think of all the people you could meet! Scientists whose work we studied at the Academy, and you could ask them anything you wanted! There’s no need to be nervous.”

But it wasn’t the prospect of walking into Stark Tower and facing a room full of powerful scientific leaders that was making Fitz nervous. It was the pesky little _+1_ on the invitation that had caused him to experience a low level of panic every time he happened to lay eyes on the small square of paper. 

And now the event was tonight. He had to make up his mind. Sitting at his desk in the lab, Fitz turned the invitation over and over in his hands, watching as Simmons adjusted her digital microscope with one hand and jotted down notes with the other. 

All at once, the answer came to him. Really, he mused, it had been in front of him all the time. He stood suddenly.

“Simmons.” 

“So, are you going or not?” said Simmons without looking up from her microscope.

Fitz shifted uncomfortably. Simmons straitened up and looked at him expectantly. Even through the goggles she was wearing, Fitz could see her raised eyebrows.

“Uh…yes. I think I am. I mean, it would feel like kind of a waste not to.”

Her face broke out into a wide smile.

“Oh, Fitz, that’s great!”

“Yep. Yeah, I think it’ll be good. But uhm, there is one thing.”

She tilted her head slightly.

“The, uh, the invitation said plus one. As in me, plus one. Leopold Fitz, plus another person.”

“Oh, that’s—”

“So you’re coming too, of course.”

For once, Jemma Simmons was at a loss for words.

~

Every article of clothing she owned was laid out on her bed. Jemma had put on at least a dozen outfits, and just when she thought she’d found one she liked, she would notice some flaw that, in her mind, deemed it unacceptable to wear to the gala.

Of course Fitz would wait to the last minute to invite her. If only she’d had more time to prepare! She could’ve bought a new dress, gotten her hair done— _something._ But no, in typical Fitz fashion, he’d blurted it out at the last possible minute. 

Finally, she settled on a skirt and top that she didn’t completely hate and set about fixing her hair. There was a knock on her door.

“Not a good time!” she called, pulling down her attempt at an up-do in frustration.

“It’s Bobbi.”

Jemma smiled and went to open the door. She had very few friends at work, other than Fitz. Even at the Academy she’d been too absorbed in her work to save much time for socializing. But just now, Jemma was sincerely grateful to have Agent Bobbi Morse as a friend.

“Perfect timing,” said Jemma as she pulled open the door. “What do you think?”

Bobbi stepped inside and looked her up and down.

“Is that really what you want to be wearing when you meet Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries, let alone Iron Man himself?”

Jemma plucked at the hem of her skirt.

“I quite like this outfit—”

“Absolutely not. Come on.”

~

By the time Jemma emerged from Bobbi’s room half an hour later, she barely recognized herself. She stepped carefully on her way to Fitz’s room, trying not to fall over in her heels. Although she wasn’t looking forward to wearing them all night, she had to admit the effect was striking. Paired with the black cocktail dress Bobbi had loaned her and more makeup than she’d ever worn in her life, and she felt like a different person—in the best possible way. 

Jemma smiled to herself as she reached Fitz’s door. Thinking about her appearance wasn’t something she normally did. It felt nice, just this once, to play dress-up.

She knocked and opened the door slightly.

“Fitz?” 

“Bloody hell…”

He was standing in front of the mirror, fiddling with his tie and turning to observe himself from different angles. 

“Stupid monkey suit. Would probably look better on a monkey, actually. That’d be adorable, wouldn’t it? A cute little monkey wearing a—”

“You look wonderful.” 

Fitz stopped scrutinizing his reflection and looked up, gazing at Simmons. He shook his head slightly as if not quite sure what he was seeing. 

“I…uh…thanks. _You_ look—wow. You…is that a new dress?”

“Bobbi lent it to me.” 

“It’s—you, er, look nice.”

Jemma rolled her eyes, but felt her cheeks burning in a not-unpleasant way. 

“Thanks, Fitz.” 

He glanced once more in the mirror and smoothed his hair. 

“Shall we?”


	2. Chapter 2

Although the press was being kept away from this event by, presumably, an army of security personnel, the entire block in front of Stark Tower seemed to be lit from every angle. Fitz and Simmons got out of the cab to find themselves on a gold-colored carpet leading to the security checkpoint outside the entrance. 

“Take my arm, Fitz,” Simmons whispered.

“What? Uh, why would I do that?”

“Because there are about fifty people watching us and I really don’t want to fall flat on my arse in front of them. How I ever let Bobbi convince me to wear heels—”

“Alright, here, I won’t let you fall.” Fitz took a deep breath as they passed through the facial recognition scanner and made their way inside. “Okay. Now, don’t be nervous.”

“I’m not nervous!” said Simmons. 

“I was talking to myself.” 

“Oh, _Fitz._ ”

~ 

“There’s better tech in the loo than I’ve seen in the entire Hub!”

Fitz’s eyes were wide, and he was in danger of crashing into multiple waiters carrying trays of cocktails as he gazed around at the engineering marvel that was Stark Tower. Around every turn was something new to gawk at; he wanted to get his hands on all of it.

Jemma was trying to prevent Fitz from actually causing a human pile-up while avoiding becoming star-struck by the pantheon of famous scientists all in one room.

Suddenly, Fitz’s eyes became fixed on a point over Jemma’s shoulder. 

“Simmons. Do you see what I see?” 

She turned quickly to peer through the crowd.

“Oh, is it the Scientific Ambassador to Luxembourg? I’ve been dying to—”

“No. Better. It’s lobster puffs.” 

As Simmons rolled her eyes, Fitz took her hand and started making a beeline for one of the refreshment tables. Just as he slipped his way around a few chatting groups of people, he found himself face-to-face with Pepper Potts, looking radiant in a softly shimmering gold gown.

“Ah, Agent Fitz, so glad you could join us tonight. I was hoping to chat with you before the night was through. I’m Pepper Potts.” 

Fitz’s mouth hung slightly open for the briefest of moments (or so he hoped), then he blinked several times and shook her hand enthusiastically.

“Ms. Potts. It’s amazing to meet you, er, I’m Leo Fitz—ah, you already knew that didn’t you? Sorry, I’m a bit nervous, never been to anything like this before—a real, fancy party I mean. The closest I ever got was going to the boiler room at the Academy, and I mean really, the sorts of people you’d get down there—”

“I’m Jemma Simmons,” said Jemma quickly, extending her arm while standing purposefully on Fitz’s foot. “Biochemist at S.H.I.E.L.D. Sci-Ops. Thank you so much for having us.”

“Agent Simmons, lovely to meet you.” Pepper smiled graciously, and Jemma wondered how one woman could be at once so powerful and so beautiful. _When_ did she have enough time to make herself look like _that_? 

“While I have you here, let me introduce you…Tony,” Pepper’s left arm reached out and returned gripping Tony Stark, wearing a sharply tailored black-tie suit and looking faintly annoyed at being pulled away from his conversation. The inventor of the Arc Reactor; Fitz tried not to stare. 

“Tony, this is Agent Leopold Fitz.” When Stark didn’t respond, she added, “of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Stark cocked an eyebrow. 

“S.H.I.E.L.D.? _Did I invite him_?” He asked Pepper out of the corner of his mouth. Fitz could feel his ears turning red.

“Yes, in fact, you did. Agent Fitz’s work in advanced weapons technology has been the envy of our Research and Development department for quite a while now.” 

A flicker of recognition seemed to cross Stark’s features, and Fitz’s ears burned. He felt Simmons nudge him.

“I’ve seen some of your work, Agent Fitz. Impressive stuff. There’s no chance you’re considering a career change any time soon, is there? Because the opportunities for someone like you here—”

“Now, Tony,” Pepper chided. “This isn’t a job interview, it's a party.”

“Thanks for the offer,” said Fitz. “I’m honored, really. But S.H.I.E.L.D. is, well…where I belong.”

Stark looked unconvinced, but shrugged.

“I should let you pick my brain sometime. Of course, I can’t talk about anything secret, proprietary, confidential, or otherwise wrapped up in layers of red tape that this one has so lovingly created,” said Tony, lifting his chin toward Pepper. “Why don’t I give you my card, and you can use it, or not. I’d certainly like to keep in touch.”

Stark reached into an inner pocket of his jacket and retrieved a thin, translucent card with no markings or writing on it. Fitz took it curiously and held it up to the light. “Incredible. But how’d you hide the—”

“See, if I told you that, how would you learn? Just scan it with your analysis reader if you ever want to get in touch. But I will warn you; it will physically not work if I am on a tropical island. Great to meet you, Agent Fitz. And your lovely girlfriend.”

“Oh, she’s not my—”

“—I’m not—”

“This is just Simmons. My partner. My, uh, work partner.”

Fitz felt Simmons stiffen slightly beside him, but Stark simply said “Partner, right.” He deftly snatched a cocktail from the tray of a passing waiter as Pepper steered him toward another group. 

Fitz stared at the card in his hands.

“This is Iron Man’s calling card,” he said faintly.

“I just met Pepper Potts,” said Jemma in a similar tone. “This night is just about perfect.” 

“Not yet,” said Fitz. “But it’s about to be.” His path to the lobster puffs had just cleared.


	3. Chapter 3

A subtle change crept slowly over the atmosphere of the party as the night went on. Instead of tiring, guests became more expansive with the never-ending flow of food, drink, and conversation. It was as if the volume was being slowly turned up, raucous peals of laughter drifting over the room and the music becoming incrementally more energetic. 

In a far corner of the room, Fitz and Simmons pushed their way politely past a large conversing group, intending to take up a couple of spots that had just been abandoned on one of the couches. They sat heavily and let out a pair of identical sighs. 

“So,” said Simmons after a few moments filled by the thumping music. “This is quite a party.” 

“It is,” said Fitz. “It sure is…something.”

“Do you want another drink? Or some more lobster puffs?” 

“No, none for me. How about you? Any other impressive scientists you’d like to speak to?”

“No, thank you, met them all I think.”

_Thump, thump, thump went the music._

“Are you, er, having fun?” Simmons smiled at him. 

“It’s great!” said Fitz. “I mean, I still can’t believe I’m actually in Stark Tower, and the incredible people we’ve met tonight, and getting introduced to Tony Stark…couldn’t be better.”

“I’m so glad!” Jemma beamed. “But, Fitz...do you think it’s all…a bit much?”

Fitz stared at her for a moment, and then all at once it was as if a dam had broken inside both of them. 

“I am so glad you said that, Simmons, I can’t hear myself _think_ over this music—”

“--shoes are _killing_ me—”

“--think one of those Pym Tech guys did actually bruise my arm when he knocked into me—”

“--and I honestly couldn’t figure out which part was the flusher, so I just left!”

Fitz laughed, then had a thought.

“Do you want to…find somewhere a bit quieter?” 

Jemma’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, er…but the car isn’t due to pick us up for another hour, and—” 

“There are other places to go in this tower besides this one room. C’mon,” he added, standing up and reaching for her hand. Jemma hesitated for a moment, then, grinning, allowed him to pull her to her feet. 

As they weaved around the party-goers and headed towards a door, Jemma whispered, “Where exactly are we going?” 

“No idea,” muttered Fitz. “I’m thinking, up. I’ll bet there’s an amazing view from the roof of this place.” 

“We can’t just go wandering around Stark Tower!” exclaimed Jemma. “There’s probably security everywhere, and not just the human kind!”

“Tony Stark basically offered me a job, Jemma. If we get into any trouble, I’ll just say that I was…checking out my potential future place of employment.” 

Just then, someone in the center of the party created a convenient diversion by enthusiastically opening a bottle of champagne, which began to spray in a shower over some unlucky dancers. Fitz and Simmons slipped through the door.

~

“Sir,” said an urgent voice in Tony’s ear. “Agents Fitz and Simmons have nearly reached the roof.” Jarvis had sounded increasingly alarmed as he’d kept Tony updated on the two young agents’ whereabouts for the past ten minutes. But Tony had watched the security stream on his phone as they’d made their way through his corridors, holding hands. These weren’t S.H.I.E.L.D. specialists; they were scientists. And he was pretty sure they were on their first date—whether they knew it or not. Either way, Tony wasn’t worried. He turned away from his guests to answer the A.I. 

“Let them be.” 

“But sir, the security protocols—” 

“Disable. Let the kids have their moment. They’re harmless.” 

Tony was fairly certain that Jarvis would be sighing right now, if it had been in his programming.

“That was sweet.” Tony felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Pepper smirking at him. He shrugged.

“What can I say? I like the kid. Reminds me of me. A shorter, nerdier, much more socially awkward version of me.” 

“Please. I’ve seen pictures of you as a teenager. If you expect me to believe that you weren’t socially awkward, you must think I’m crazy.” 

“Alright, fine. I wasn’t always this charming.”

“What an apt word choice.” Pepper smiled. “I’ll have someone escort them back down when their ride arrives.” 

“Thanks, Pep.”

“You do continue to surprise me, Stark.”

~

Fitz had been right; the view was spectacular.

He and Simmons sat on the edge of the expansive roof, gazing out at the glittering city. The noise and chaos of the party seemed miles away as they took in the vast stretch of lights below them. 

“Once in a lifetime view, this,” said Simmons quietly. She had taken her hair down from its intricate up-do, and it fell in nutmeg-colored waves around her face and shoulders. 

“Only if you want it to be,” said Fitz. 

Simmons laughed a little, then took a deep breath. “Do you ever think…maybe…you’d like to get out of the lab someday? I mean, get out into the field, see a bit more of the world?” 

Fitz frowned slightly as he continued looking out at the city, not really seeing it. 

“I mean, sure, I’ve thought about it. But…I like what I do. What we do. I don’t want that to change.”

“Me either! But ever since the Academy we’ve been holed up, working—which I love! Don’t get me wrong, Fitz, I do love the work. But I just think, someday, I’d like to…get out there. See something. Like real people do.” 

Fitz thought for a moment. Then turned and looked at her. 

“Well…if you think I’m going to let you go running out to the field without me, you’re dead wrong about that. We’re a team.” 

Jemma just smiled, her hair fluttering as the breeze picked up. She shivered slightly and crossed her arms against the chill. 

“Cold? Here,” Fitz hastily took off his suit jacket and draped it over her. As he shifted the material into place, he kept his arm around her shoulders. Jemma let out a contented sigh. 

“I’m glad I’ve got you, Leo Fitz.” 

“And I’m glad I’ve got you, Simmons. Besides—who else would I have asked to be my plus one?”


End file.
